Dealing with Search Engines

Search engines like Google, Bing, and DuckDuckGo play a pivotal role in how information is discovered and shared online. They are the gateways through which vast amounts of data, including personal information, are accessed by users worldwide. For individuals in Switzerland, understanding how to interact with these search engines is crucial — not only to maintain an online presence but also to protect personal privacy.

Switzerland, renowned for its strong stance on privacy and individual rights, provides a unique landscape for managing online information. The revised Federal Act on Data Protection (FADP), effective since September 1, 2023, and the concept of the 'Right to be Forgotten' as recognized by Swiss courts, give individuals powerful tools to control how their personal data appears in search results.

As the internet continues to evolve — with AI-powered search engines, cached content, and data scraping becoming more prevalent — managing your digital footprint has become more complex and more important than ever.

How Search Engines Index and Display Information

Search engines operate by crawling the internet to index web pages. This process involves automated programs (bots) that systematically browse the web, collect information, and store it in a database. When you enter a search query, the engine sifts through this database to present the most relevant results.

  1. Crawling: Search engines use automated programs (crawlers or spiders) to visit web pages across the internet.
  2. Indexing: The content found by crawlers — including text, images, and video — is analyzed and stored in a massive database (the 'index').
  3. AI-Powered Search (New): AI-powered search engines like Google now use large language models (such as Google's Gemini) to generate AI summaries at the top of search results, which can include personal information.
  4. Ranking: When a search query is entered, the engine uses algorithms to rank results based on relevance, website authority, and user engagement.
  5. Displaying Results: Results are displayed in an ordered list, often with AI-generated overviews, advertisements, and featured content.

Important: Even if content is removed from the original website, search engines may still display cached (saved) versions. This is why requesting removal from both the source website AND the search engine is often necessary.

The Legal Framework in Switzerland

  1. Federal Act on Data Protection (FADP): The revised FADP (effective September 1, 2023) governs the processing of personal data. It ensures that personal data is processed lawfully, in good faith, and proportionately.
  2. Right to be Forgotten: Under Swiss law and consistent with EU jurisprudence, individuals can request the removal of search results that link to personal information that is outdated, irrelevant, or harmful. Swiss courts have upheld this right in several landmark cases.
  3. Swiss Federal Supreme Court Rulings: Notable Swiss Federal Supreme Court rulings have sided with individuals requesting removal of search results, establishing precedent for privacy-based removal requests.
  4. International Laws: Search engines operating in Switzerland must also navigate international data protection laws, especially the GDPR for EU residents and the EU Digital Services Act (DSA).

Your Rights Regarding Search Engine Results

  • Right to Access: You can request information from search engines about whether and how your personal data is being processed.
  • Right to Rectification: If information about you is incorrect or outdated, you can request its correction.
  • Right to Erasure ('Right to be Forgotten'): You can demand the removal of search results linking to your personal data if the data is outdated, irrelevant, excessive, or harmful.
  • Right to Object: You can object to the processing of your data, particularly when results relate to spent criminal convictions, private medical information, or other sensitive data.
  • Legal Recourse: If a search engine refuses your request, you can file a complaint with the FDPIC (edoeb.admin.ch) or pursue legal action through Swiss courts.

Requesting Removal from Google

Google's Removal Policies

Google allows the removal of certain types of personal information from search results. As of 2025, Google will consider removing:

  • Personal contact information (phone number, email, physical address) shared without consent
  • Financial information (bank account numbers, credit card numbers)
  • Government-issued ID numbers (AHV/social security numbers)
  • Confidential medical records
  • Handwritten signatures
  • Login credentials
  • Non-consensual intimate images (revenge porn)
  • Images of minors
  • Doxxing content (personal information shared with intent to harm)
  • AI-generated non-consensual intimate imagery (deepfakes)

How to Submit a Google Removal Request

  1. Go to Google's "Remove your personal information from Google" page: support.google.com
  2. Select the type of information you want removed (e.g., personal contact info, explicit images).
  3. Fill in the required details, including the URLs of the search results you want removed.
  4. Provide evidence that the content contains your personal information.
  5. Submit the request. Google will review it and respond, typically within a few days to a few weeks.
  6. For EU/Swiss "Right to be Forgotten" requests specifically, use: google.com/webmasters/tools/legal-removal-request/search — select "European privacy law" as the reason.

Google Results About You Tool

Google offers a "Results About You" feature that lets you monitor search results containing your personal contact information. To set it up:

  1. Open the Google app or go to google.com and sign in.
  2. Tap your profile picture, then "Results about you."
  3. Follow the prompts to enter your personal information (name, address, phone, email).
  4. Google will notify you when new results containing your information appear, and you can request removal directly.

Requesting Removal from Bing

Bing's Removal Policies

Microsoft Bing allows users to request the removal of personal information from search results under certain circumstances.

How to Submit a Bing Removal Request

  1. For content removal requests: Go to the Bing content removal page at microsoft.com/en-us/concern/bing
  2. For webmasters who want to remove their own content from Bing's index: Use Bing Webmaster Tools at bing.com/webmasters — sign in and use the URL removal tool.
  3. For European/Swiss privacy-based removal ("Right to be Forgotten"): Submit a request at microsoft.com/en-us/concern/bing — select "I want to report an issue that pertains to the laws of my country/region."
  4. Provide the URLs you want removed, your contact information, and a clear explanation of why removal is justified.

Important: Removing content from Bing search results does NOT remove it from the internet. You must also contact the website hosting the content to request removal at the source.

Requesting Removal from DuckDuckGo

DuckDuckGo does not track users and does not build personal profiles. However, it still displays search results that may contain your personal information. DuckDuckGo sources its results primarily from Bing and its own crawler.

  • Since DuckDuckGo relies heavily on Bing, removing content from Bing will usually also remove it from DuckDuckGo results.
  • For direct removal requests, contact DuckDuckGo at: duckduckgo.com/duckduckgo-help-pages/results/removal-request/
  • DuckDuckGo also respects robots.txt and noindex tags, so having the source website block indexing will prevent the content from appearing.

New: AI Search Engines and Your Data

A new category of search tools powered by AI — such as Google AI Overviews, Bing Copilot, Perplexity AI, and ChatGPT with browsing — can surface personal information in AI-generated summaries. This presents new challenges:

  • AI-Generated Summaries: AI search tools may summarize personal information from multiple sources into a single response, making it harder to trace and remove.
  • Perplexity AI: Perplexity AI (perplexity.ai) generates answers by citing web sources. If your personal data appears in their answers, you can contact their support to request removal.
  • ChatGPT / OpenAI: ChatGPT does not provide real-time search results but its training data may contain personal information. You can submit a data deletion request to OpenAI at privacy.openai.com.
  • Bing Copilot: Bing Copilot uses Bing's index to generate AI answers. Removing your data from Bing will also affect Copilot results.
  • Google AI Overviews: Google's AI Overviews summarize search results using Gemini. Removal from Google's index should also affect AI Overview content.

Identifying Personal Information on Search Engines

Step-by-Step Search Audit

  1. Define Your Search Scope: Determine what type of personal information you want to find: name, address, phone number, email, photos, financial info, medical records.
  2. Use Multiple Search Engines: Search on Google, Bing, DuckDuckGo, and also on Yandex (popular in Eastern Europe) and Baidu (if relevant for Asian-market exposure).
  3. Advanced Search Techniques: Use quotation marks for exact phrases (e.g., "John Doe Zurich"), the minus sign (-) to exclude terms, and site: to search specific domains (e.g., site:facebook.com "John Doe").
  4. Check Image Search: Use Google Images, TinEye, and PimEyes to find where your photos appear online.
  5. Search Social Media: Search for your information on Facebook, Instagram, X (formerly Twitter), LinkedIn, TikTok, and any platforms where you have or had accounts.
  6. Search Data Broker Sites: Check data broker sites such as Spokeo, Whitepages, Pipl, and Swiss-specific directories like local.ch and search.ch.
  7. Document Everything: Keep a spreadsheet with URLs, dates found, and status of removal requests.

Tools for Monitoring

  • Google Alerts: Set up alerts for your name and variations to receive email notifications when new content appears.
  • PimEyes: A facial recognition search engine — upload a photo to find matching faces across the internet.
  • Data Broker Removal Services: Services like DeleteMe and OneRep that systematically remove your information from data broker databases.
  • Reverse Image Search: Tools like Google Images and TinEye to find where your photos are being used.
  • Social Media Monitoring: Tools like Brandwatch and Hootsuite to monitor mentions of your name across platforms.
  • "Results About You" (Google): Google's built-in tool to alert you when your personal contact info appears in search results.

Checking for Leaked Passwords and Data Breaches

Passwords and login credentials are highly sensitive. With billions of credentials leaked in data breaches, it is crucial to check if yours have been compromised.

  1. Check Have I Been Pwned: Visit haveibeenpwned.com to check if your email or phone number appears in known data breaches.
  2. Change Compromised Passwords: For any compromised passwords, change them immediately. Use unique passwords for each account.
  3. Use a Password Manager: Store your passwords securely using a password manager such as Bitwarden (open-source), 1Password, or Proton Pass (Swiss-based).
  4. Enable Two-Factor Authentication (2FA): Enable 2FA on all accounts that support it. Use an authenticator app (like Aegis, Authy, or the built-in iOS/Android authenticator) rather than SMS-based 2FA.

Anti-Tracking Tools

Websites track and share user data, primarily for advertising. These tools help protect your privacy:

  • DuckDuckGo: A privacy-focused search engine that does not track you.
  • ProtonVPN: A Swiss-based VPN service with a strong no-logs policy.
  • Privacy Badger: A browser extension that automatically blocks invisible trackers.
  • Ghostery: Blocks trackers and provides a private search engine.
  • uBlock Origin: A comprehensive ad and tracker blocker for all major browsers.
  • Brave Browser: A privacy-focused browser with built-in ad blocking, tracker protection, and fingerprinting defense.

Note: The HTTPS Everywhere extension is no longer needed — all modern browsers now enforce HTTPS by default.